I'll See You Tomorrow
by kosukechan
Summary: Sollux Captor and Eridan Ampora strongly dislike each other-that's a known fact between them. However, as fate would have it, their lives become irrevocably intertwined at an alarmingly fast pace and neither of them can predict how each day they spend together will unfold. Rated M for future suggestive themes. Contains yaoi/slash/whatever-you-want-to-call-it.
1. Chapter 1

Beneath sunken clouds, muted grey and thick with imminent rain, the sprawling college campus is quiet and motionless. There is an obvious shortage of the usual stragglers stopping to chat before switching buildings, loners perching up against trees with headphone cords dangling from their ears, and people carelessly zigzagging through the crowds on skateboards. A light breeze that comes and goes in capricious intervals brushes a rogue leaf or two from the grass and sends them flying aimlessly through the air. It is an oddly calming scene, if not a little bit lonely.

Stepping onto the sidewalk that carefully loops around the campus, leaving no entrance to any building unaccounted for, my feet begin to carry me toward my intended destination. Some of the leaves being blown about by the wind circle around my feet as I make my way to the entrance of the administrative building. I try not to step on any of them for no reason other than to make a game out of it, but a few of them catch me off guard and slip beneath the soles of my sneakers. They don't make a crunching sound like the golden leaves of autumn would have and I find myself becoming slightly disappointed that the air around me is that of summer instead.

In fact, today is the last day of finals before the spring semester graciously comes to an end and summer vacation forces its way into the spotlight. Part of me finds the event partially favorable but in all honesty, most of me is indiscriminately apathetic towards the whole thing. It is an occasion that happens at the same time every single year without fault or fail; there is absolutely nothing extraordinary or worth mentioning about it. All it really meant was that I would now have a little more free time to waste illuminated by the flickering glow of a computer screen.

It dawns on me that while I had been lost in my head, rather needlessly thinking about the most unremarkable of things, I had accidentally walked about twenty feet past the double glass doors leading into the building I needed to be in. Tracing my steps backwards until I reach the door, I wrap my fingers around the cold metal handle and let myself inside. The spacious hallways are, as I had expected, only marginally more lively than the ghost town outside. There isn't a single staff member or student dwelling within the confines of the establishment that didn't have a dire need to be there. I wouldn't say my presence here is out of a life or death situation, but I had decided before making the twenty minute commute to school on a day where I had no mandatory business to take care of that I should register for classes now and get it out of the way early.

As I turn the corner and head for the registration office, someone clearly not paying any attention to where they're going runs into me at full speed and knocks both of us down in one swift movement. If I'm not already irritated enough by the fact that my car keys and cell phone land three feet away from where I do on the dusty tiled floor, the flames of my resentment crackle and burst when I look up to find out just _who_ caused this frustrating predicament. Scanning the face of the person who so carelessly glided down the hallway as though they owned it, my eyes instantaneously roll in response.

Of course it had to be_ him_ of all people.

He gives me the same annoyed expression as the one that I'm probably wearing myself and that just exacerbates the strong feeling of dislike I have for him. It definitely shows in the first words to tumble out of my mouth. "Are you even going to apologithe for thith or thould I jutht make a mental note that you're even more of an athhole than I previouthly thought?"

"W-Well, it's not like it w-was _my_ fault that you w-weren't w-watchin' w-where you w-were goin' and ran into me. You should learn to pay a little more attention to the w-world around you, Sol. It w-would do you a world of fav-vors."

I'm actually dumbfounded at the sheer audacity of his answer, even though it should really come as no surprise. "Are you fucking theriouth right now? You weren't either, dumbath. In fact, I'm thure that thith wath entirely _your_ fault!"

We both take a few moments of much needed pause in order to lift ourselves from the floor and stand upright. The first thing I do is make sure that my cell phone has acquired no visible damage and once I'm satisfied that it has been generally unharmed, I gently slip it into my hoodie pocket along with my jingling car keys. Caring infinitely more about his appearance than his scattered belongings, he delicately runs his hands over the surface of his clothing until the assorted fabrics draped over his body are free of dust. When he's seemingly content that he looks as pristine as he possibly can, he finally gathers his things and turns his admittedly _unwanted _attention back onto me.

"W-Whatev-ver you say, Sol. W-Whatev-ver. You. Say."

I roll my eyes as he begins to take his leave and mutter under my breath, "I hope we don't have any clatheth together nextht themethter… I'd love to never have to thee your thtupid fucking fathe ever again."

He stops dead in his tracks and turns to look at me with an almost melancholic expression on his face. "Oh, you don't hav-ve to w-worry about that. I actually just finished w-withdraw-win' from school right before w-we ran into each other."

"Wait, wh—" I begin to ask with only the slightest curiosity, but an unexpected tap on my shoulder successfully breaks my train of thought. The presence of another person piques my interest and I begin to turn around to see who it is. "Who the fuck ith behind me—oh. It'th you, Dave. Ith it important or can I go regithter for nextht themethter firtht?"

The short blonde shakes his head and adjusts his sunglasses. "Nah, it'll only take a minute or two. Eridan, this applies to you as well so walk your ass back over here and listen to what I have to say." he declares as the one who so rudely knocked me over minutes beforehand begins to head in the other direction, presumably because he had thought that our conversation was over. _Oh, how I wish it was._

However, at the blonde's humble request, he slowly turns around and with a look of hesitation written all over his face decides to join us. "W-What is it? I hav-ve places I need to be and I can't really afford to w-waste any more time than I already hav-ve."

"Oh, fuck you, Eridan. It'th not like it wath only your time that got wa—"

Dave clearly sees where this argument is quickly heading and stands between us in order to make sure we concentrate on him instead. "Alright, now that you're both here, I have an invitation to extend your way. Karkat, John, and I are throwing a party back at our apartment to kick off the beginning of summer tomorrow and you're both more than welcome to stop by. It starts around seven and ends whenever the fuck you people want it to. There, that's all I had to say."

Deciding that attending would be a respectable alternative to the day full of endless coding that tomorrow was undoubtedly destined to be, I reply almost _too_ enthusiastically, "I'll definitely thtop by for a while. Thoundth like it hath the potential be fun, in any cathe."

"W-Wouldn't miss it." Eridan remarks rather bluntly as though he had found it incredible that he even had to be asked. I'm not the slightest bit surprised by the way he handled that question; in fact, it was everything I've come to expect from him. He has always been a social butterfly that flutters insistently within the center of attention—exactly the kind of person that I do not get along with.

Apparently satisfied with our answers, Dave adjusts his sunglasses again and digs through his tattered messenger bag until he produces the ridiculously old, scratched flip phone of his that I absolutely loathe. His pale fingertips poke at the silver buttons a few times as he begins dialing a number—more than likely belonging to one of his two roommates—before he begins walking away. Now that the only buffer making this meeting tolerable has left, Eridan and I stand in the hallway with a heavy, awkward silence hanging between us.

Despite all of the undesirable feelings that wash over me whenever I have to stand in the same room as him, I find myself unable to depart without saying something. The words my lips produce seem foreign, like someone else entirely is saying them for me. "I'll thee you tomorrow then, I gueth."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow-w." he replies with a _nearly _undetectable smile.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time I pull my piece of shit car into the apartment complex and loop around until I reach the block where the party is located, the sky is only just beginning to turn the warm shades of sunset. There are tons of people strewn about in the parking lot and on balconies hanging from the sides of each building; from the mixed sounds of laughter and music drifting through my ears, it seems as though my friends aren't the only ones starting off summer with a bang. I can't find a single space to park in the immediate vicinity of where I need to be, so I drive around for a little while until I see someone pulling out of a prime spot right outside of the building. Once I've settled into the parking space without incident, I turn my car off and toss my keys into my pocket before grabbing the case of beer stationed in the passenger seat beside me.

A few of the guests are standing on the sidewalk with cigarettes and alcohol in hand, chatting amongst themselves. I spot a familiar face among the crowd as I head in their direction and decide to stop and say something. "You look like you're jutht having _tho _much fun, Karkat."

He just rolls his eyes and holds out his pack of cigarettes as if to say that I should take one. Mindlessly accepting his offer, I carefully set the case of beer down onto the ground and pull one out of the pack before sliding the filtered end between my lips. After fishing through his jeans pocket for a few moments, he finally produces a small blue lighter and drops it into my open palm. "Fuck you, Sollux. You know goddamn well that this wasn't even remotely my idea. I hate parties so much but no, sunglasses Strider and his mentally challenged sidekick just went ahead and did this anyway."

"Ehehehe, you're tho funny, Karkat. You thould at leatht _attempt_ to enjoy yourthelf a little bit. I hate partieth too for the motht part but I can't deny that it beatth holing mythelf up in my thitty apartment all day." I respond with a lighthearted laugh as I bring the flame of the lighter to the end of the cigarette and watch as it slowly turns into a glowing orange ember. "Oh, and what wath it that you wanted to talk about? I forgot to anthwer your textht latht night but I did thee it."

Karkat begins blushing immediately upon hearing this and I have to wonder what the hell he wants to talk about. "That… is best saved for later. Like when enough of these assholes have either passed out or gone home."

"Fair enough. Let'th go inthide onthe we finith thethe, though. I know I won't be able to function properly around tho many people if I'm thober."

Instead of answering me or giving me any sort of signal that he even heard what I just said to him, he simply sucks down his cigarette and with surprising patience, waits for me to finish mine. We both toss the filters onto the sidewalk and relegate them to a distant memory no longer important. I pick up the beer I had set down minutes beforehand and follow him inside. Even though the party has only just started, each room of the apartment is already bursting with music and livelihood. Neither Karkat nor I are exactly all that thrilled about either being the solitary creatures we are, but we're both, for the lack of a better word, _stuck _in this situation.

He takes the beer from my hands and I'm admittedly glad the extra weight is no longer my responsibility. Setting it down onto the only open space he can find on the counter once we push our way through to the kitchen, he turns around and ignores the case completely. I briefly wonder what he's up to until he haphazardly knocks some napkins and forks out of his way—not giving a single fuck that they're all sent tumbling to the floor—to make room for shot glasses and a bottle of unopened whiskey.

"We need something strong to start with so let's make a game of this." he declares once he's set everything up and filled both of the tiny glasses with dark amber colored liquid. "How about we take a shot for every time you butcher the English language with your god awful lisp? We should get drunk in absolutely no time if we drink to that."

I realize that he's just being an insufferable asshole—best friends for our entire lives or not, he's an asshole no matter how much you look at it—but I decide to take his insult as a challenge instead. "Thally thellth thea thellth by the thea thore."

"Do we count 'thellth' as one shot or two?" Karkat replies without missing a beat; this is one of the many reasons why I absolutely love the little fucker.

"Fuck it. We'll count it ath two. Tho that maketh what, eight?" I ask without really having to; he nods in agreement and one after another we pour the shots down our unsuspecting throats until we've hit the grand total. "Ugh, it tathteth tho fucking dithguthting but I feel a hell of a lot better."

Indeed, my head is already swimming from the alcohol now running through my system at a devilishly fast pace. Everything around me—from the constantly changing music to the buzz of random conversations to the unpleasant smell of so many people surrounding me at once—seems a little more tolerable. Without saying so much as a goodbye or a see you later, Karkat disappears into the crowd and I'm left to my own devices in the kitchen with a bunch of people that I don't even recognize. A few of them have no issue with pushing me to the side to reach for the various bottles resting on the counter and I decide that now is as good a time as any to take my leave. Just as I turn the corner into the hallway that leads down into the living room, the absolute _last_ person that I want to see comes running in my direction with a ridiculous smile plastered on his face.

He's already been drinking—that much is obvious—and it seems that along with losing more brain cells than he can afford, he's also lost the knowledge that I pretty much detest him because he pulls me into a constricting embrace. "Sol! Just the person I was lookin' for! How-w are you?"

"Oh god, no." I mumble under my breath as I turn right back around in order to brave the brutal kitchen scene once more. Finding the case of beer that I brought, I pull two bottles out and alternate sipping from them as fast as humanly possible.

It's the only thing I can think of that will get me through this.


	3. Chapter 3

I manage to just narrowly escape his grasp over the next couple of hours but once the action starts to really heat up with the arrival of nightfall, his presence makes itself known with a vengeance. He seems to be everywhere at once; no matter what room I happen to walk into, he's inevitably there doing the only thing he's even remotely good at—being the center of everyone's attention. Watching as girls and guys alike sloppily hang all over him, lapping up every presumably terrible joke that rolls off his tongue, I have to wonder if I would be even more irritated by this if I wasn't as intoxicated as I am. I don't have enough time to ponder the thought, however, because it only takes a few transitory moments of me standing in the doorway for his line of vision to lock onto me.

He quickly makes a beeline through the notably larger crowd of people chatting and dancing around the apartment. I hate to admit that I am actually somewhat interested in what he might have to say to me but my dislike for him completely overrides any shred of curiosity that I may have. With that thought in mind, I turn in the other direction and keep walking away until I reach the entrance to the bustling apartment. Making my way down the blue carpeted hallway of the building towards the exit, I notice the various couples sucking face and one dude passed out on a bench with dicks drawn all over his face. _Fell asleep way too early for a party like this,_ I think to myself with a little sympathy for the kid.

As soon as I step outside, a delightfully warm breeze gently blows my hair back and I take a seat on the small porch in order to immerse myself in this feeling a little bit longer. I gaze up and take note of how the sky dangling above me is several shades of dark blue and purple; the twinkling stars shining proudly on such a clear night make it that much more of an entrancing sight to behold. The longer I stare at the vast veil that night has cascaded over me, the more dizzying it becomes. A strange sense of vertigo overpowers me and I have to look away. My focus shifts to the bottle of beer that I've been holding in my left hand for a while now. It's still a little over half full, so I take a few giant swigs of the warm liquid until there's just enough left that I don't feel too bad about tossing it into the street.

"Thought you'd be out here. W-Way to av-void me the w-whole night..." a soft voice sneaks up from behind me as I hear the door to the building open and creak loudly as it slowly shuts itself. I don't even have to look up to know just who it is that decided to crash my one-man party.

"I wathn't avoiding you at all, Eridan. Don't be tho paranoid. I wath thimply making thure that I wath everywhere that you were not." I reply flatly as he takes a seat next to me; because there is only so much room on the small concrete porch, both our thighs and elbows end up touching. The warmth his body gives off is incredibly comforting—so much that I almost forget that I dislike him.

"Real fuckin' funny, Sol. As if you couldn't a' been more obv-vious about it—leav-vin' the room ev-very time I tried to catch your attention. I might be a little drunk but I'm sure as hell not as stupid as you think I am, you know-w." he retorts in a slightly annoyed fashion. "I don't understand w-why you hate me so much."

I just stare at him, completely astonished. "Are you theriouth? From the very moment we met in that god awful phythicth clath latht themethter, you've been nothing but rude to me. You're abtholutely right; you're not ath dumb ath I had originally thought. You've proven without a doubt that you're actually _dumber_ than I could have ever imagined."

For a second, he looks as though he's thoroughly shocked by what I just said. Then an expression of mixed emotions that I can't quite place washes over his face. "W-Well, I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't a' let my preconceiv-ved notions about you get the best of me back then."

"What the hell do you mean by 'precontheived notionth' about me? It'th not like you were even aware of my exthithtenthe before we had that clath together. I thwear to god it'th like you're thpeaking another language right now."

A melancholic sigh emerges from his lungs. "It doesn't matter anymore. I really don't feel like gettin' into it right now-w... look, this is kind a' goin' to be a special summer for me… so in honor of that, can w-we just start ov-ver?"

To say that I'm shocked at his sudden desire to be friends with me would be a crude understatement; before I can think up some smartass reply to his strange inquiry, another presence joins us and ruins my train of thought. "Uh, hey there Ampora. I kind of need to borrow lispy over here for a second if that's cool with you." I look up to see my best friend peeking his head out from behind the front door of the apartment building. Another light breeze rolls in and causes his already disheveled black hair to spiral out of control. A small laugh escapes me when I notice this and he just rolls his eyes in response. "Seriously, Captor. I need to talk to you about that one thing that I mentioned earlier, so hurry the fuck up with this little rendezvous with the hipster fish wizard over here."

"Alright, I'll meet you inthide in a few minuteth. Thith won't take too long conthidering how much I don't even want to be here."

"You better seriously hurry the hell up. It's important."

Karkat carefully shuts the door behind him and a terribly awkward silence proceeds to loom over us. I cast a glance in Eridan's direction and I'm somewhat taken aback by the slight expression of sadness rendered on his face. "Don't tell me you're actually dithappointed that I don't want anything to do with you. I really thought that much would be obviouth by no—"

"I really hate summertime, you know-w?" he starts speaking again, cutting me off and completely ignoring my insult. "Nothin' special ev-ver happens. I alw-ways just go along w-with the flow-w. It's the same fuckin' thing every single year and I can't stand it anymore."

"What the _fuck_ are you on? You're the kind of perthon who ith alwayth in the middle of everything. You have a ton of friendth even though I can't even begin to underthtand why anyone would want to put up with your fucking holier than thou attitude on a daily bathith. I almotht never thee you by yourthelf, tho I'm jutht having a little trouble imagining what the hell you could pothibly mean when _you_ thay that you hate thummertime."

When he turns to look at me, my heart begins to accelerate in a most vexing manner. The feeling that claws its way into the very deepest part of my soul is one that I've never experienced before. "You know-w, not ev-verythin' is alw-ways as it seems, Sol. Just because I attend a lot of parties doesn't mean that I actually w-want to be there. It's just expected of me. Just because people hang around me doesn't mean that they're the ones I w-want to be hangin' around. This summer, I w-want to do the things that_ I_ w-want to do. Is that really so hard to understand?"

I'm suddenly overwhelmed by a swell of foreign thoughts and emotions. I close my eyes, not to sleep but to think. Images of every event that has happened since I met him circle through my clouded head; however, only the features of his face seem to stand out in particular. My eyes open once again and shift their focus to him. He's sitting beside me looking infinitely more serene than he did a few moments ago. I have to wonder what he could be thinking about, and if I wear the same expression when I think about him in this different sort of light. The alcohol spiraling through my system seems to think so, anyway. I'm inclined to agree.

The more I look at him—I mean _really_ look at him—the more I find myself thinking that he has an attractive face. Noticing things that I never once cared to notice before, from his clear blue eyes that shift to a light green whenever the light hits them just right to the thin, straight-as-a-ruler nose centered perfectly between them, I make a mental note that sends shockwaves of surprise through my very being.

He's beautiful.

Every fiber of my existence desperately wants to believe that it's the alcohol talking or even that I've simply gone insane from too much exposure to his overflowing stupidity. But that's total, unadulterated bullshit and I know it. He's definitely beautiful no matter how much I don't want him to be. For some unknown reason, this revelation is just enough to make me have a bewildering change of heart.

"I gueth I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and take you up on your offer to thtart over. It'th not like it would kill me to give you another chanthe, tho… here we are."

A smile brighter than the stars and the flickering lamp posts littered along the pathway of the parking lot combined spreads across his pallid face. That bizarre flutter in my heart starts back up again almost instantaneously and without warning. I have absolutely no idea what to do with myself and I almost think I'm going to be sick. However, instead of throwing up or passing out like I'm fully expecting to, my body just presents him with a smile of my own.

"Thank you, Sol. Not to sound all girlish or anythin' but I'm really happy w-we had this conv-versation tonight. Look, shot in the fuckin' dark here, but could I maybe count on seein' you tomorrow-w or somethin'? I can give you my number and w-we can figure somethin' out if you're dow-wn..."

"Thure, why the fuck not?" I answer as I come to the harsh realization that I've completely lost my fucking mind.


	4. Chapter 4

It's been pouring since the moment I opened my eyes to a brand new morning. The thin walls of my apartment do nothing to mask the sound of thick raindrops thrashing against them. I roll over in my bed and snuggle up with the tattered blue comforter, not wanting to leave my little cocoon. My eyes close once more and despite the rather piercing sound of steadily falling rain, I'm beginning to be lulled back into a tranquil slumber. A few minutes of being between consciousness and sleep pass by before my cellphone begins to vibrate softly on the nightstand.

_So much for a little serenity before the day begins._

My fingers blindly search for the phone and it isn't until the call has already ended that I finally feel the cool surface of the screen beneath them. I pick it up and hit redial without even bothering to check who had been calling, because I already have a pretty good idea as to the identity of the mystery caller. When the person on the other line answers with an impatient hello—as though my calling them back is somehow inconveniencing them—my calculations as to who it is are proven flawlessly correct. He really never ceases to amaze me with his callousness.

"Couldn't you have called a little later? It'th only nine in the fucking morning."

A crude laugh penetrates my unsuspecting ears as he replies, "Sorry, Sol, but I'm kind a' a mornin' person so get used to it."

_Get used to it? Does this mean I have to deal with him forever? _

"What do you want, anyway?"

"You said you w-would hang out w-with me today!" I can almost picture him pouting as he says this. He really is unbelievable. "Or are you goin' to tell me that it w-was the alcohol talkin' and w-we didn't really start ov-ver?"

_Well… fuck._

I would feel terrible letting him know that the majority of my speech yesterday—not to mention the bizarre attraction towards him—was mostly the result of the various spirits coursing through my body. However, the fact that I would actually feel terrible about it tells me that part of it was out of my own volition. A long, drawn out sigh escapes me as I kick the covers off and respond, "I _thuppothe_ I meant what I thaid latht night tho don't get your pantieth in a bunch."

"Classy, Sol. Anyw-way, I'm glad you meant it, then… I w-was kind a' w-worried about it and I actually didn't know-w if I should call or not."

"You thouldn't ha—"

Another laugh travels the distance between us, but this time it's lighthearted and almost lyrical. "I knew-w you w-were goin' to say that."

I can't help but smile. "You thet yourthelf up for that one. Tho do you have any idea ath to what you want to do or are we jutht winging it today?"

"W-Well… I w-was kind a' hopin' to go down to the creek but it's rainin' and that kind a' puts a damper on things. Unless you don't care and in that case, I w-would be dow-wn to go anyw-way."

Before answering him, I reluctantly roll out of bed and smooth the wrinkles acquired from tossing and turning overnight out of my boxers. I take a look in the full length mirror perched up against the closet door and silently decide that I definitely need a good shower before meeting up with Eridan—in other words, I look absolutely horrible first thing in the morning. My hair is sticking out in every direction and my multicolored eyes look glazed over with the last remnants of sleep. At least the dull, low light seeping in through the blinds covering the window make my skin look a few shades darker than ghostly white.

I flip open my laptop in favor of speedy information gathering rather than waiting for the desktop to boot up and check the weather forecast. "I'm looking at the weather forecatht right now and it thayth here that it'th thuppothed to be hot ath fuckall and thunny onthe the rain clearth up in the nextht hour. Tho by the time I'm done getting ready and everything, it thould be fine."

"Sounds good, then. Am I picking you up or are w-we meetin' up there?"

"Uh… you can pick me up if you really want to. I don't really care either way, though it would be nithe to not have to drive my piethe of thit car around today. I live in the apartment complexth near the library if you know where that ith."

I hear a faint flurry of _swoosh _noisesand figure he must be scribbling something down in a notepad. "Yeah, I know-w w-where you're talkin' about. My brother used to liv-ve out there, too. W-What's the apartment number?"

"It'th ninety-thixth. I'm gonna hang up tho I can go get ready."

_Click. _He hangs up without even saying goodbye but I pay it no mind as I toss my cell onto the bed and make my way down the hallway until I reach the bathroom. I flick the light switch on but the room stays dark, indicating that the light bulb has inevitably blown. As I reach into the dingy tiled shower anyway to turn the cold metal handle over to the hot setting, it dawns on me that I already knew about the light not working and had done nothing to solve it. _Goddamn it,_ I think to myself as I first check to make sure the water is just the right temperature before slipping out of my boxers and stepping into the shower.

I let the water sting my skin until I'm completely saturated. Hot showers in the morning have always been my favorite thing in the world, and today is no exception. After washing down my body with honey scented soap, I switch to the matching shampoo and begin to lather up my terrifying bedhead. It's an extremely relaxing process; in fact, I get so lost in the steamy paradise I've created that I'm still stark naked and dripping wet by the time the buzzer rings and his voice comes through on the intercom.

"I'm here. Hurry the hell up and answ-wer the door. It finally cleared up outside!"

I towel myself off at the speed of light and throw on the first pair of clean boxers and jeans that I can find in the laundry basket sitting in front of the bathroom door. Even though it had not been my intention to leave such a thing there—I'd tripped over it countless times while waking up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night—it proved to be a helpful, if not a little dangerous, placement tactic. Satisfied that at least the lower half of me is covered, I run down the hallway of the building and let him in through the security door.

He stares at me for a few seconds, taking notice of the fact that I'm shirtless, and cracks a smile. "Did you forget somethin' there, eh Sol?"

"Yeah, I know that I'm thtill mithing a few articleth of clothing."

"You know-w, you _could_ be missin' a few-w more. _W-Wink w-wink_."

I have no idea why but that strikes me as the funniest thing I've ever heard, and we both just stand there laughing for a good ten minutes.


	5. Chapter 5

Once I've found a suitable shirt to wear, I search around my apartment for the necessities that I can fit into my pockets and follow Eridan out to his car. I find out, to no real surprise, that he owns a quite nice newer model two-door Accord that has been custom painted a royal purple. It's rather flashy and almost tacky in my opinion; I can't help but crack a little smile as I quickly come to the conclusion that it is absolutely perfect for him. As he heads over to his side of the car, I follow suit and slip into the passenger seat. The interior smells fresh and I think I even detect a faint hint of vanilla even though there are no air fresheners to be found. However, what _really_ excites me is the fluffy aqua steering wheel cover complete with colorful sea life detail.

_So he has a cute side, too._

He must realize we don't have too much to talk about because the first thing he does once he's settled in his seat is turn on the radio. I watch as his long, ring adorned fingers tap through the presets until he's satisfied with the music blasting through his speakers. It's some band I've never even heard of before and it's pretty fucking terrible, but it's his car and I have no say in the matter. Knowing how different our tastes in everything are, it occurs to me that we'd probably be hard pressed to find even a single band we can both agree on.

Tuning out the horrid music, I pull my cellphone out of my jeans pocket and mindlessly scroll through my text messages until one in particular pops out at me. It's the one that Karkat had sent to me a few nights ago that I had ignored by accident; he'd also tried to talk to me about it at the party but it had completely slipped my mind. As if he somehow has the knowledge that I'm currently looking at it, my phone begins vibrating nonstop and I realize he's trying to get ahold of me through the messaging app we use when we're too lazy to actually text.

- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began messaging twinArmageddons [TA] –

CG: SO I'M JUST WONDERING EXACTLY WHAT FUCKING PART OF 'I NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING IMPORTANT' YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.

CG: I WAITED FOR YOU LIKE I SAID I WOULD AND YET YOU DECIDED THAT SPENDING TIME WITH AMPORA WAS BETTER THAN ATTENDING TO YOUR BEST FUCKING FRIEND OF SIXTEEN YEARS IN HIS TIME OF NEED.

CG: THAT'S RIGHT—SIXTEEN FUCKING YEARS OF FLAWLESS FRIENDSHIP. DO YOU REMEMBER HOW OLD WE WERE WHEN WE FIRST MET? WE WERE FIVE AND YOU PUSHED ME OFF THE FUCKING SWINGSET IN YOUR BACKYARD WHEN MY PARENTS BROUGHT ME OVER TO PLAY WITH YOU. I CRIED FOR LIKE THIRTY MINUTES STRAIGHT AND THEN STOLE A BOX OF CRAYONS OUT OF YOUR BEDROOM AND DREW A FROWNY FACE ON YOUR WALL AND BLAMED IT ON YOU. AFTER THAT INCIDENT WE, FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON, BECAME FAST FRIENDS.

CG: WHEN WE WERE TEN, YOU FELL AND SKINNED YOUR KNEE WHILE TRYING TO SKATEBOARD AND I WALKED TO THE DOLLAR STORE AND BOUGHT YOU BANDAIDS THAT HAD BEES ON THEM BECAUSE OF YOUR RIDICULOUS OBSESSION WITH THOSE STUPID INSECTS. I SPENT MY MEAGER ALLOWANCE ON SOME DUMBASS BANDAIDS BECAUSE YOU HURT YOURSELF.

CG: OH, AND OF COURSE YOU REMEMBER THE TIME WHEN WE WERE FOURTEEN AND YOUR FIRST GIRLFRIEND BROKE UP WITH YOU. I SNUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO COMFORT YOUR ASS BECAUSE THAT CREEPY MEGIDO BITCH MADE YOU CRY FOR HOURS ON END. WE DIDN'T GO BACK HOME TO SLEEP UNTIL SUNRISE AND WE SKIPPED SCHOOL THAT DAY.

CG: AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE FEFERI SAGA.

CG: ALSO, BEFORE YOU MAKE SOME KIND OF SARCASTIC SEXUAL REMARK ABOUT THAT STATEMENT 'COMFORT YOUR ASS'—DON'T. I'M *SO* NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THAT SHIT RIGHT NOW.

CG: ANYWAY, YOU SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS. YOU OWE ME BIG TIME, BUDDY.

Reading through his obviously premeditated monologue recounting some of our past experiences together causes me to begin laughing uncontrollably. Happy tears well up in the corners of my eyes and my stomach muscles contract almost painfully as this fit of laughter consumes me. Eridan glances at me through his peripheral vision with what looks like an expression of disapproval—but I couldn't care less about that.

TA: 2hiit kk, calm the fuck down.

TA: ii'm laughiing 2o hard about that 2wiing2et thiing though. you were 2uch a liittle crybaby when we were kiid2.

CG: BELIEVE ME, I'M REALLY QUITE AWARE THAT YOU THOROUGHLY ENJOY HAVING A LAUGH AT MY EXPENSE. GO AHEAD AND LAUGH IT UP ALL YOU FUCKING WANT BUT AS LONG AS I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE THING I NEED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT.

TA: you know ii love you. ii ju2t al2o love how your liife ii2 full of hiilariity cau2ed by me.

TA: 2o what diid you need two talk about?

CG: OKAY.

CG: SO ABOUT THE THING…

TA: 2piit iit out kk. ii'm actually kiind of bu2y riight now.

CG: WELL, *SORRY*. GOD FORBID I IMPOSE UPON YOUR PRECIOUS CODING TIME.

TA: ii'm not bu2y codiing you dumba22. why doe2 everyone alway2 a22ume that?

TA: actually don't an2wer that one. but 2eriiou2ly tell me what you need two tell me before we diie of old age or 2omethiing.

CG: ALRIGHT, I'LL JUST GET ON WITH IT THEN. SO YOU ALREADY KNOW HOW I'VE BEEN DATING STRIDER FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS NOW. EVERYTHING IS GREAT AND ALL BUT THERE IS ONE THING I WOULD LIKE FROM HIM AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO APPROACH THE SUBJECT WITH HIM BECAUSE FUCK, IT'S EMBARRASSING.

TA: liike what?

CG: WELL, YOU SEE, WE'VE HAD SEX AND EVERYTHING BUT LIKE…

TA: liike?

CG: I WOULD LIKE IT IF HE… YOU KNOW…WITH HIS MOUTH.

TA: 2o you want hiim two 2uck your cock then.

CG: YES, SOLLUX. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT IF WE'RE JUST GOING TO THROW ALL DISCRETION AND SUBTLETY OUT OF THE FUCKING WINDOW.

TA: oh, my bad. iin that ca2e, have _you _'you know… wiith your mouth' for hiim?

CG: WELL, NO I HAVEN'T BUT IT'S NOT LIKE I WOULDN'T. I WANT TO DO IT, EVEN. I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO BRING IT UP TO HIM BECAUSE WHO EVEN HAS A CONVERSATION LIKE THAT?

TA: relatiion2hiip2 are all about giive and take 2o iif you 2uck hiim off he'll probably reciiprocate. anyway, ii really gotta go now. good luck wiith everythiing and text me later or 2omethiing.

CG: UGH, OKAY. I'M STILL A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT IT BUT I GUESS YOUR ADVICE MAKES A DECENT AMOUNT OF SENSE. THANKS FOR FINALLY LISTENING TO ME.

TA: no problem. 2orry iit took 2o long two actually talk about iit. later, kk.

CG: LATER. HAVE FUN DOING WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU'RE DOING.

- carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased messaging twinArmageddons [TA] –

It's not until I put my phone back into my pocket that I realize we've already arrived at the small parking lot located on top of the grassy hill that leads down to the creek. Eridan puts the car into park and turns the radio off before turning his gaze in my direction. "W-What the hell w-was that all about? You kept laughin' like crazy in random interv-vals and there w-were a few-w times I thought you might be hav-vin' some kind a' heart attack."

"Oh, it wath nothing all that important, really. I wath jutht giving Karkat thome friendly advithe on the philothophy of blowjobth."

He nods and goes to pull his keys out of the ignition; when what I just said finally sinks in, he stops mid-movement and looks at me again. "You _w-what?"_


	6. Chapter 6

"Blow-wjobs, huh?"

I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn towards Eridan, who looks like he's contemplating the word 'blowjob' as though it's a strange phenomenon. "Well, it'th not like I wath inthtructing him on how to do them or anything like that. I wath jutht giving him advithe on how to approach the thubject with hith boyfriend."

"Yeah, you don't really strike me as someone w-who w-would know-w how-w to pleasure another man." he replies thoughtfully like the sentence he just spoke was some kind of groundbreaking revelation.

I laugh. "You're right; that'th not exthactly my area of exthpertithe."

Once we're standing outside, we double check that his car is indeed locked and head down the hill. We walk straight along a path of lush overgrown flora for a little while until we reach a small clearing. Stationed on the creek bed are two boulders with somewhat flattened surfaces that make them a convenient sitting area. Nobody really knew if it was a natural, coincidental occurrence or if someone had done that to the rocks on purpose, but all of the kids who had grown up around here just appreciated it for what it was—a quiet hang out spot in the middle of nature for whoever was lucky enough to get there first.

Today we happen to be the lucky ones, perhaps because it's still quite early to be out and about on a summer day, and we take a seat across from one another. I sit on the rock closest to the water and he settles for the one that's still mostly mounted on the ground. We're both rather tall and because the rocks are so close together, our long legs intertwine with each other. I find that I don't really mind the closeness even when his bony knees knock against mine every so often. It's a comfortable kind of intimacy in my opinion.

I take off my sneakers and set them aside before rolling up my jeans until my entire calves are showing. The scorching rays of sunlight peeking through the canopies of the trees cause my pale skin to shine with such intensity that I have to squint my eyes just to see in front of me. Eridan immediately takes notice of this and a ridiculous grin forms on his lips. "Your pasty skin is a fuckin' eye hazard, Sol. I regret not hav-vin' brought my sunglasses with me dow-wn here."

"Oh, fuck you. I hope my legth reflect tho much thunlight that the glare in your thtupid hipthter glatheth cautheth you to go permanently blind."

He just stares at me with an expression of disapproval. "W-Why are you rollin' up your jeans, anyw-way?"

"Tho I can thtand in the creek? The water ith actually pretty clean thith year and it'th hot ath fuck out here. I wanna cool off a little." I reply rather bluntly, obviously wondering why he even had to ask that question to begin with. Feeling a little annoyed at his stupidity, I leap forward and rip his glasses from his face. His eyes are just sparkling in the sunlight and the hue of his irises look like they're flashing between a luminescent blue and a diluted green. It really makes me wonder why he doesn't just wear contact lenses instead because they would show off his admittedly beautiful eyes so much better.

Eridan promptly stands up and tries to take his stupid black thick-rimmed glasses back from me but I'm moving way too fast for him and he completely loses his balance. As he tries to stop himself from toppling over into the water as his knees start to buckle from the sudden movement, his left hand lands on my thigh and his right hand lands precisely in between my legs as he falls forward instead. Realizing what actually just happened, he quickly regains his composure and sits back down on his rock before letting out a long sigh.

"Sol, please giv-ve them back. I can hardly see w-without them and I almost just blindly grabbed your dick."

I laugh and hold them out in my hand. "Alright, here you go."

He puts them back on and slides them up the bridge of his thin nose with his pointer finger until he's satisfied that they're secure. I decide that now is as good a time as any to venture into the creek, so I make sure that my cellphone and keys are safely stationed on the center of my rock before hopping into the water. The cold temperature of the water sends a sharp pain running up the length of my body but it quickly settles into a rather refreshing sensation in contrast to the dead heat beating down on me from the sun. Eridan watches for a little while as I cautiously walk downstream, trying avoiding jagged rocks and tricky little plants that try to wrap around my toes. It's been years since I've done something like this and as I begin to feel a little nostalgic, I decide that I want to share this feeling with him.

"Why don't you come and walk with me? It'th really nithe in here." I ask as I turn around and head back over to where he's sitting. Knowing how delicate he seems to be, he'd probably need my help getting into the water.

Clearly apprehensive about my proposal, he glances down at the creek and says, "I don't know-w about that… I lov-ve bein' in the w-water and all but this creek is kind of disgustin' isn't it? I mean, like… it _does_ look a little cleaner than prev-vious years but still…"

"Oh, come on, printheth. It'th not going to kill you to walk around a bit. I'll even hold your hand if you're that freaked out about it."

An exasperated sigh escapes his lungs as he begins to roll his own jeans up towards his knees. He makes a nice even cuff just above his kneecaps and I notice that his olive skin looks perfect in the natural light. I can't help but be a little jealous of him for this reason, considering the fact that I'm so white I practically glow in the dark. _I really need to get out in the sun more this summer, _I think to myself as I wait for him to finish preparing himself for getting in the creek with me. Apparently taking my offer seriously, he reaches out for my hand and I take hold of it just like I said I would. Once he's in the water, he laces his fingers with mine and shows no signs of letting go.

I lead him down the creek for a while, warily evading any and all obstacles that might cause him to lose it, and we silently take in the beauty of the scenery. The atmosphere surrounding us is profoundly tranquil and I honestly couldn't ask for more. In fact, I find myself starting to feel really pleased with my decision to give him another chance until he suddenly squeezes my hand with brute force and begins to have some sort of crazy panic attack. "S-Sol! G-Get it off a' me right fuckin' now-w! W-Whatev-ver the fuck this is, I w-want it gone right this fuckin' instant!"

"What the _hell _are you talking about?"

He clings to me for dear life and thrusts his left foot up towards me, sending a vicious spray of water flying through the air. When I see exactly what he's having such a fucking conniption over, a ridiculous burst laughter erupts from the very depths of my stomach. "Eridan, it'th jutht a piece of fucking kelp!"

"I don't giv-ve a flyin' fuck w-what it is, just get it the fuck off a' me! It's slimy and disgustin' and please just make it go aw-way! I knew-w w-walkin' in this creek w-was a bad idea and I hav-ve no idea w-why I even agreed to it!"

"Jethuth fucking Chritht on ithe thkateth, you're thuch a fucking baby!"

Once I've removed the offending object from his foot, he makes a mad dash back towards the safe haven of the rocks. Eridan quickly slides his shoes back onto his feet and rolls his pants back down until not even a single centimeter of his tanned legs are showing. I'm still laughing like a total lunatic by the time I rejoin him and he does not look the least bit amused by _my_ amusement over the situation that just so hilariously transpired. Shrugging his obvious irritation off, I lean over and give him a friendly punch on the arm but he just shifts his position so that he's looking away from me.

I decide to apologize—even if it is kind of only half-heartedly—just so that he won't be pouting for the rest of our excursion together. "Thorry for laughing but that wath jutht tho incredibly funny. Er, I mean, it wath _totally_ terrible of that kelp to jutht attack you like that out of nowhere! We thould file a thtrongly worded complaint with the creek to keep wayward kelp like that one off the thtreetth."

"Go fuck yourself, Sol. That's so not ev-ven funny."

I know my apology was not an apology at all but there are times where my penchant for sarcasm takes precedence over everything else, and this was most definitely one of those times. Trying again to fix the situation—this time with the actual intention of making him feel better—I stop laughing for long enough to say, "I really am thorry about that. It _wath _your idea to come here in the firtht plathe tho I thought you'd be comfortable with it."

Eridan shoots me a sideways glance in order to gauge my sincerity and once he's content that I'm being honest, he turns around so that he's facing me again. He makes this movement rather hurriedly and our knees abruptly slam against one another a bit too hard. We both pause for a moment to each rub the affected area on our legs to alleviate some of the pain before continuing the conversation. "I know-w it w-was my idea but I just like to sit here and talk, not gallav-vant around in the fuckin' nasty ass creek. You know-w… I really hav-ve to say that for a nerdy shut-in, you're pretty adv-venturous w-when you're actually outside."

"You know how thometimeth kidth with thtrict upbringingth go crathy onthe they have thome freedom? It'th kind of like that. When I actually leave my apartment, I like to exthplore the retht of the world."

He smiles in response and then his expression unexpectedly changes to one of serious contemplation. After a few moments of being seemingly deep in thought, his face suddenly lights up and I can only assume he's come to some kind of conclusion about something. "W-Well, if you're still feelin' a little rebellious… w-would you maybe w-want to go get a piercin' w-with me? I'v-ve been w-wantin' to do it for aw-while now-w but I'm alw-ways too scared to go by myself."

"Are you thure you can handle thomething like that? You're kind of a panthy."

The dark glare he sends in my direction is almost palpable. "As a matter of fact, I _can_ fuckin' handle it… as long as you're there w-with me. Oh, and please don't take that the w-wrong w-way or something—it could be anyone else, you just happen to be here w-with me."

Ignoring his slightly insulting commentary, I slip my feet back into my sneakers and hop down from the rock with ease. He looks a little dejected for some odd reason, but once I hold my hand out towards him, he goes back to smiling like an idiot before taking it and lifting himself up from his seat. When the soles of our shoes are firmly planted on the grass and we have everything together, I lower my gaze and smile the most sarcastic kind of smile I can manage.

"After you, printheth."


	7. Chapter 7

We begin heading downtown via the interstate and I diligently watch the rather insignificant amount of cars blast by us through the window. Had we been driving a little later in the afternoon, our car would have been tightly packed between hundreds of others making their way home from work in the evening rush. At least at this time of day, we can keep a steady speed towards our intended destination. I'm abruptly broken out of my humdrum thoughts about traffic when yet another terrible song forces itself into my ears. At this point, I've had more than enough of being subjected to Eridan's horrific taste in music and decide to take action.

"Can we _pleathe_ change the thtation to thomething that doethn't make me want to thtab mythelf over and over?" I ask with a slight hint of desperation in my voice despite having decided before even opening my mouth that my question would ultimately be rhetorical. My fingers find themselves fucking around with the seek button until something halfway decent beings playing on the radio.

"W-Well, damn, Sol. I'm _so_ sorry that you can't handle a little obscure music ev-very now-w and then." he replies flatly while looking over at me and rolling his eyes. "It is _my_ car, you know-w. I can listen to w-whatev-ver the fuck I w-want."

I just glare at him. "You can altho be mindful of other people in the car. I theriouthly couldn't lithten to that travethty for one more fucking thecond."

He decides to ignore my comment and let me win this one. I'm almost positive that I'll hear him complain about this at some point later on but I'm not going to lie to myself and say that I'm not totally enjoying this small victory. We keep driving for a while longer until we see the sign indicating that the exit we need to take is just up ahead. He carefully merges onto the exit and makes the next left once the stoplight hanging overhead turns green. Meandering through the seemingly infinite amount of surface streets, about fifteen minutes pass before we finally reach our destination.

There is an all-purpose parking lot directly across the street from where we need to be and for the small fee of three dollars, we secure a spot without incident. I offer to pay for the parking space because it beats the hell out of driving around the surrounding blocks and looking for a place to parallel park. We wait until the road is void of traffic before making our way back over towards the tattoo parlor. Instantly recognizing the girl standing outside of the shop window with her phone in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other, I decide to walk right up to her and say hello.

"Long time no thee, eh Meenah?"

She instantly tears her eyes away from her phone as she looks up to see who is greeting her and a half-cocked grin spreads across her face. "Well if it ain't my little sister's adorabubbly geeky ex-boyfrond! How the hell have you been?"

Meenah slides her phone into the back pocket of her pants so she can give me her undivided attention as she waits for my answer. I watch as she tosses her cigarette onto the sidewalk and deliberately stomps it out with her sneaker. She looks exactly like she did when I was still dating her sister—dressed in all black save for a few pink accents here and there and adorned in sparkling gold jewelry. Taking a good look at her for the first time in a long while, I come to the conclusion that I find her to be decently alluring. Of course, any attraction that I felt for her would be utterly pointless because she swings for the same team.

"I've been pretty good for the motht part. Jutht attending college and thlaving away at my beloved computer. How about you? Are you thtill theeing that Aranea girl?"

Her face instantly lights up at the mention of her girlfriend. "We're still goin' strong as ever. I'm fuckin' stoked that my first dip in the lady pond turned into a long lastfin' relationship. Anyway, my break is just aboat over so if you're here as a customer, c'mon inside and I'll seewhat I can do for you." Just as she places her hand on the silver door handle and begins to pull it towards herself, she does a double take when she finally notices Eridan standing next to me. "Somefin's not right aboat you…"

"W…W-What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She lets go of the door and walks up to him; examining every inch of him, it seems as though she's contemplating his very existence. A small laugh escapes me despite my better judgment because he looks almost terrified of her. Meenah pokes and prods at his face and hair for a while before she finally speaks up again. "You happen to be an Ampora by any chance?"

His face turns pale as though he's being questioned by some kind of bloodthirsty monster rather than a lesbian with a penchant for fish puns. However, his frightened expression rapidly changes to something much calmer as though he's realized something important. "_Oh_. I get it now-w. Let me take a wild fuckin' guess—you happen to know-w my older brother? W-Well, try to think of us as tw-wo separate people because I can't stand that asshole most of the time."

"I fuckin' _knew_ it. Well, unfortunately there ain't enough time to try an' dig up some juicy dirt on that fishetious bastard right now. I'll have to properly interrogate you some other time. Let's head inside and get down to business before I get into trouble with the boss for slackin' off while on the clock."

We follow her into the shop without another word and my ears are immediately assaulted by the loud alternative music blasting from speakers built into the ceiling and the low, steady buzzing of tattoo guns. A powerfully sterile smell floats through the air and if it weren't for the brightly colored walls ornamented with wild artwork, one might think this was a hospital room from the scent alone. There aren't that many customers here this early on in the day—in fact, there are only two people having work done at the moment—so Meenah leads us straight over to the unmanned front desk and takes her place behind it.

Before saying anything more to us, she quickly flips through the large white pages of what I can only assume is a schedule book. "Let's see… I don't got no appointments until aboat one, so if you two are only lookin' to get a piercin' or a small tattoo, I can easily fit you both in before then."

Eridan and I both exchange glances to figure out who would speak first and he decides to take the initiative. "W-Well, I was thinkin' a' gettin' my eyebrow-w pierced."

I'm still surprised and rather impressed by the sheer spontaneity of his decision to come here; feeling a bit of envy over it for some reason, I silently decide to myself that I'm definitely going to go through with this. Seeing someone like him stepping out of his comfort zone makes me want to do the same—hell, it makes me want to _one up_ him somehow—and we both _did_ agree that night at the party that our previous summers weren't anything worth mentioning. There would be no harm in taking some risks this time around and making this summer one that we would remember for the rest of our lives.

"Alright, how about you, mister ex-boyfrond?"

"Uh… well, I didn't exthactly plan thith out or anything. I jutht kind of came along for the ride but I gueth I alwayth thought tongue pierthingth were pretty cool. Ith that a pothible thing that can happen or thould I pick thomething elthe?"

She leaves her spot behind the desk and walks over to me. "Open your mouth and lift up your tongue so I can see the underside of it." I do exactly as she instructs and it's admittedly a little uncomfortable standing there while she thoroughly inspects my mouth as though it's a work of art. "You don't got no major veins in the way or anyfin' so it should be fine. Just keep in mind that your lisp is gonna be fuckin' _ghastly_ for aboat a week afterwards while your tongue goes through the healin' process. Seriously, it will be downright painful for people to have to listfin to you talk so you should probably just refrain from speakin' altogether for the next week to save yourshellf the embarrassment."

Dismissing her discourteous monologue altogether, I find myself quickly running through the pros and cons of this idea in my head. Realizing that not having to speak aloud to anyone for a few days wouldn't exactly impede on my current lifestyle, I decisively announce, "Well, a week of tholitude holed up in my apartment with my computer doethn't thound too bad at all; in fact, it thoundth like every other goddamn week of my life. Let'th do thith thing."

"Spoken like a true nerd, my frond."

Now that we've pretty much figured out our game plan, we fill out the necessary paperwork while we wait for Meenah to set everything up in one of the rooms off to the side. As we park ourselves on the well-worn but extremely comfortable leather furniture in the seating area, my line of vision just happens to wander over towards Eridan. I take notice of the fact that he's shaking a little bit, no doubt a sign of apprehension. It figures that he'd be scared once shit got real. It's so like him. "Are you going to be okay or are you going to be a little panthy about thith?"

"Oh, v-very fuckin' funny, Sol. I'm just a bit nerv-vous but I'll be fine. I really w-want to do this and I'm not gonna back dow-wn now-w that w-we're already here."

I offer him a sly smile. "If you need me to hold your hand again, printheth—"

"I got everythin' set up. C'mon back." Meenah abruptly interrupts me and beckons for us to head into the room she just emerged from so we can get started.

Seeing that Eridan is still rather tense, I hop up on the seat so I can get pierced first. The raven-haired girl with twintail braids that almost reach the floor stands in front of me and asks me to swill some numbing solution around in my mouth for a minute; as I do so, she turns back around so she can remove the clamp and a long silver needle from the sealed packaging. Once I'm done swishing the minty liquid around and spit it back into the cup, she has me stick my tongue out so she can mark the area where she needs to pierce it. After we decide that the placement is just about perfect, even _I _begin to feel a little anxious when I realize that needle in her hand is actually going to be shoved through a part of my body. _Oh well, I'm already set on doing this._

"I'm gonna count to three and on three you should take a deep breath. The piercin' itself don't hurt much at all but it might be sore in a few hours. You ready?" I nod and she wastes no time bringing the clamp to my tongue. It's cold and kind of painful but in order to not freak myself out mid-piercing, my mind does its best to block out the fact that it's even there. She counts to three and before I even realize what's going on, she steps away with a crooked smile on her face. "There, another masterpiece by the fuckin' empress of this tattoo parlor. That wasn't so bad, eh?"

I'm thoroughly shocked. I didn't even realize she'd already stuck the needle in let alone switched it out for the actual jewelry. "That wath thome ninja thit right there. Hardly even felt it go in."

"For some people, the tongue is one of the least painful things to get pierced. It's just the healin' process that'll fuck with you. Although I know some people who hardly have any swellin' or anyfin' but they're just the rare lucky bastards and you shouldn't count on being one of 'em." she announces thoughtfully and then turns her attention towards Eridan. "Alright, mini-Cronus. You ready for this shit or are you gonna chicken out? You look like you're about to have some kinda panic attack or somefin' and I gotta say I don't approve."

"I'm fuckin' fantastic, thank you v-very much. In any case, I can't let this nerd ov-ver here show-w me up in the manliness department."

"Eridan, even Meenah ith more manly than you are." I retort as I hop down from the chair so he can take my place. He closes his eyes in nervous anticipation once he's comfortably seated and I can't help but feel a little bad for him. "Here."

I slip my hand under his and immediately notice his palm is a little bit clammy as he laces his thin fingers with my own. His grip is incredibly tight and I feel a vague affinity with the men who hold their pregnant wives' hand during labor. Meenah and I exchange quick glances—hers dripping with self-satisfaction and mine an expression of disenchantment complete with an eye roll. As she disinfects the area and situates the skin around his eyebrow in between a new clamp, she asks, "You two like _that_?"

We both simultaneously answer with a firm 'no' and she just bursts out in a fit of laughter as though it's the funniest thing she's ever heard in her life. "_Now_ I get why you broke up with Feferi."

For some strange reason this statement cause Eridan's countenance to change to one of severe discomfort, though that could just be because Meenah is moving the clamp around as she nearly doubles over from laughing so hard. I disregard her obvious stab in my direction and keep holding Eridan's hand in silence while she finally gets on with the piercing process. In much of the same manner as my tongue piercing, it takes hardly any time before she secures the ball on the end of the small curved barbell and hands him a mirror so he can check out her work.

"W-Wow-w, this actually looks a lot better than I expected it to. You did an aw-wesome job w-with this." he politely thanks her and then fixes his gaze onto me. "Should w-we pay for these and then head back to your place so I can drop you off?"

My tongue is already a little swollen and uncomfortable so I just nod my head in confirmation. We leave the room and make our way back towards the front desk one last time in order to pay her for the work she did. I throw her a generous tip to show my appreciation; after she accepts the cash and goodbyes are said, Meenah and I decide exchange numbers so we can keep in touch from time to time. Newly pierced and ready to go home, Eridan and I walk back through the entrance and make our way to his car. Once we're both settled in our respective seats, he shifts the rear view mirror so he can check himself out in it. It almost seems like he has a few extra ounces of confidence in himself than he did earlier and I find myself feeling happy about that for reasons unknown to me.

"Thanks for doin' this w-with me. I know-w it w-was a little impulsiv-ve but you're a real fuckin' trooper an' I totally dig that." he says with a genuine smile as he puts his keys into the ignition and starts the car. I return his smile and much to my surprise, he lets me choose the music the entire way back to my apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

My tongue is _ridiculously_ swollen. It feels as though there's a strange foreign object stuck in my mouth and even on the third day since getting the piercing, it shows absolutely no signs of ever deflating back to normal. As much as I silently complain to myself about it, I can at least take some solace in the fact that it doesn't hurt much at all. Despite the fact that it's not really all that painful, it's still incredibly difficult to speak aloud with my tongue like this so I haven't even bothered to leave my apartment once since Eridan dropped me off. For the past few days, I've simply spent my time alone within the confines of these walls. That's right—instead of making my presence known to the outside world, the technological mistress also known as my computer and I have been rekindling our intimate relationship with each other.

However, as much as I love the beautiful glowing device stationed on the desk in front of me and all of its vast intricacies and possibilities, I've been coding for nearly six hours straight now and I'm going more than a little stir crazy. Desperately craving some social interaction to fill the empty void I've created for myself over the past few days, I decide to click on the instant messaging application pinned between the web browser and my porn stash on the task bar. As soon as it loads and shows my status as online, one person after another causes an onslaught of annoying little _ping _noises to blast through my speakers. It seems as though I'm getting exactly what I wished for as I sift through the various conversations and pull one up onto the screen.

- turntechGodhead [TG] began messaging twinArmageddons [TA] -

TG: dude so

TG: today on worlds greatest unsolved mysteries

TG: karkat went down on me for like thirty fucking minutes

TG: like where the fuck did that even come from

TG: hes usually so reserved when it comes to sex and suddenly hes fumbling around with my zipper like a mentally challenged football player

TG: anyway while im on the subject of unexpected mouth to dick action

TG: i heard you went and got your tongue pierced

TG: can you convince him to get one too

I don't feel like even dignifying that horrendous display with a response of any kind so I quickly minimize the window and pretend like I haven't even seen it to begin with; it's not like he can tell whether I read his ridiculous musings or not, anyway. Tearing myself away from the computer for a few minutes before checking out the rest of my unanswered messages, my feet carry me into the kitchen and come to a stop in front of the cabinet designated for drinking glasses. I open up the somewhat lopsided wooden door and pull out a tall glass with little cartoon style bees dancing around the center perimeter. A small laugh escapes me as I remember the day I bought this gorgeous set of glasses; I had been shopping for my apartment with Karkat and I startled him so much that he screamed in the middle of the aisle when I accidentally gasped loudly at the sight of them. It was definitely love at first sight.

Once I fill the adorable cup with cold tap water and take a few precautionary sips to prevent any spilling, I cautiously bring it back over to my little electronics setup in the attached living room. My computer chair is probably one of the most expensive items I own and I delight in the comfortable feeling of sinking into its soft leather cushion once I set the glass onto the surface of the desk. After a few moments of leaning back in my seat and enjoying the sweet relaxation it provides, I roll myself back up to the desk and focus my attention on the next conversation.

- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began messaging twinArmageddons [TA] –

CG: HEY ASSHOLE.

CG: ARE YOU ACTUALLY HERE?

CG: I BET YOU OPENED THIS UP AND FUCKING FORGOT ABOUT IT IN ORDER TO WRITE SOME MORE OF YOUR SHITTY PROGRAMS AND VIRUSES.

CG: WELL WHATEVER.

CG: IT'S NOT LIKE I EVEN *WANTED* TO TALK TO YOU. I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE BEST FRIENDS OR ANYTHING MEANINGFUL LIKE THAT. YOU IGNORING ME HAS ABSOLUTELY NO BEARING ON MY LIFE WHATSOEVER SO DON'T THINK FOR EVEN A SECOND THAT THIS IS UPSETTING ME IN ANY WAY BECAUSE YOU WOULD BE HORRIBLY FUCKING MISTAKEN IF YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT SOMETHING AS RIDICULOUS AS THAT.

TA: calm your tiit2, kk.

TA: ii went two get 2ome water, ii wa2n't iignoriing you.

CG: OH OKAY. I GUESS THAT'S FINE THEN.

CG: ARE YOU USING ONE OF THOSE STUPID BEE GLASSES? I WOULD BET MONEY THAT YOU ARE BECAUSE YOU'RE ABOUT AS UNPREDICTABLE AS THE FACT THAT THE SUN WILL RISE TOMORROW MORNING.

TA: you know me all two well. ii love the2e fuckiing gla22e2 and nobody can take that away from me, not even you kk.

TA: anyway, ii heard about your thiirty miinute blowjob expediitiion from 2triider. diid he reciiprocate?

CG: WELL… NO. NOT YET, AT LEAST.

CG: BUT I PLANTED THE SEED, RIGHT? I MEAN… THAT'S LIKE THE WHOLE THING I GOT FROM OUR CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS. I'M SUPPOSED TO INTRODUCE THE IDEA OF IT SO THAT HE KNOWS I'M COMFORTABLE WITH THAT SORT OF THING AND WE PROCEED FROM THERE.

TA: ii'm pretty 2ure _he'2_ the one that planted the 2eed all over your face.

TA: ehehehe FUCK ii'm funny.

CG: OH HA HA FUCKING HA! YOU'RE SO GODDAMN IMMATURE.

TA: yeah ii know and yet you 2tiill love me and come two me for my unbeatable adviice.

TA: iin any ca2e, ii ju2t hope he actually follow2 through.

TA: iif he doe2n't then ii look like the a22hole.

CG: I WOULD NEVER BLAME YOU IF THAT HAPPENED. IT WOULDN'T BE YOUR FAULT BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE YOU CAN MAKE HIM DO…YOU KNOW… *THAT*.

TA: ii want you two do 2omethiing for me real quiick.

CG: WHAT IS IT?

TA: can you 2ay the word blowjob ju2t once? the way you talk about iit make2 you 2eem liike a 2heltered pan2y.

CG: OH, I'M *SO* FUCKING SORRY FOR BEING CONSERVATIVE IN A DISGUSTINGLY OVERSEXED SOCIETY. PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR HAVING A LITTLE CLASS AND SELF RESPECT WHEN IT COMES TO MY BODY AND MY SEX LIFE.

TA: put a cock iin it kk.

TA: ehehehe ii'm on a roll toniight.

TA: you 2hould totally be proud two be my friiend.

CG: OKAY, I'LL ADMIT THAT I ACTUALLY LAUGHED AT THAT ONE.

Since I know that my best friend is going to be okay for a while without me talking to him, I decide to minimize his window as well and come back to it once I've checked out the other two conversations that are still lying in wait. After taking a few more much needed sips of cold water, the name labeled on one of the tabs blinking on the task bar suddenly catches my attention. A wave of complete surprise washes over me as my mind registers _exactly_ who this person is. I waste absolutely no time in clicking on the chat window out of sheer curiosity as to what someone who I haven't spoken to in ages could possibly have to say me now.

- apocalypseArisen [AA] began messaging twinArmageddons [TA] -

AA: hey s0llux

AA: i kn0w its been awhile since we last sp0ke

AA: but i w0uld like t0 catch up if thats 0kay with y0u

To say that I'm shocked that my ex-girlfriend from my junior high school days is suddenly wanting to catch up with me would be a vast understatement. I mean, it's not as though we had ended on bad terms or anything—as teenagers we both had _a lot_ of issues that needed working through and we parted ways at her request in order to deal with them—but we never really became friends afterwards, either. We had greeted each other in the hallways from time to time throughout the rest of high school and that was really all it had amounted to. Part of me wants to exit the window entirely but an intense feeling of nostalgia creeps up on me and forces me to decide against that course of action. It won't kill me to talk to her and see what she has been up to since we graduated.

TA: well ii'm a liittle 2urprii2ed two hear from you two 2ay the lea2t.

AA: i w0uld expect as much

AA: i kn0w this seems rand0m

AA: s0rry if im inc0nveniencing y0u

TA: not really, iit'2 ju2t been 2o long that ii kiind of fiigured you had pretty much forgotten about me or 2omethiing becau2e hone2tly iit'2 liike that for me.

AA: 0_0

AA: i havent f0rg0tten ab0ut y0u

TA: ii don't hate the iidea of catchiing up though, ii gue22.

TA: how have you been 2iince graduatiion?

AA: 0kay m0stly

AA: h0w ab0ut y0u

TA: 2ame ii gue22, ju2t doiing what ii do be2t and liiviing my wonderful liife two the fulle2t.

TA: not really but 2ometiime2 ii liike two thiink that my exii2tence ii2n't totally fuckiing u2ele22.

AA: y0u are n0t useless

AA: y0u have always served an imp0rtant purp0se in my life and in 0thers

AA: i wish y0u c0uld have seen that back then

AA: and n0w t00 i guess

TA: wow, ii diidn't even mean two let that one 2liip but old habiit2 diie hard.

AA: well when we were t0gether we t0ld each 0ther everything

AA: we were tw0 screwed up kids with t0ns 0f em0tional baggage

AA: i br0ke up with y0u because i knew i was taking y0u d0wn with me and i didn't want that f0r y0u

AA: y0u were meant t0 be happy s0llux

TA: thank2, ii am happiier the2e day2 and ii know ii've 2aiid thii2 before iin the pa2t but you de2erve two be happy two, aa.

AA: im 0kay

AA: and im 0kay with being 0kay

Only Aradia can make me feel both completely torn apart and somehow content at the same time—she always had a way about her that forced contradictory feelings like this to sink their teeth into my heart. It's a little strange to be thinking this particular thought nearly eight years after the fact, but I can now look at our relationship objectively and understand without hard feelings that she probably made the right decision in breaking up with me. I suddenly feel the need to put some space between my consciousness and our conversation and so I switch conversation windows once again to the only one I haven't checked yet. This particular tab has been blinking continuously for the past fifteen minutes or so and I'm not the least bit surprised to see that it's Eridan frantically trying to get my attention.

- caligulasAquarium [CA] began messaging twinArmageddons [TA] -

CA: hey sol

CA: hey sol

CA: hey sol

CA: sol hey

CA: hey sol

CA: hey sol

CA: are you purposely ignorin me

CA: i can clearly see that youre online so answwer me already

CA: do i need to send a fuckin SMOKE SIGNAL or somethin to get your attention

TA: calm the fuck down, ii'm here.

CA: finally wwhat the hell wwere you doin

TA: a2 2oon a2 ii siigned on, four people me22aged me at once 2o ii've been attendiing two each and every one of you a22hole2.

CA: wwhat did you savve the best for last or somethin

TA: you were ju2t the lea2t iimportant.

CA: wwell thats just plain rude but wwhatevver

CA: howw are you holdin up

TA: pretty good actually. ii ju2t can't talk or eat any 2oliid2 becau2e my tongue ii2 fuckiing giiant riight now.

CA: does it hurt at all

TA: 2urprii2iingly not but ii ju2t hope the 2welliing goe2 down 2oon.

CA: im sure it wwill sol

CA: anywway next wweek is the festivval dowwntowwn

CA: do you havve plans to go yet

TA: no ii don't u2ually go two tho2e kiind2 of thiing2.

CA: wwell a bunch a people are goin

CA: i heard kar wwas goin an i figured in that case so wwere you because you guys are best friends or wwhatevver

CA: so if you wwouldnt mind goin wwith me that wwould be cool

CA: i figured wwe could go saturday since thats the day most people are goin

TA: 2ure, ii'll go wiith you. ii could use a liittle exciitement anyway con2iideriing ii 2tiill have the re2t of thii2 week two 2pend alone whiile my tongue heal2.

CA: thats the fuckin spirit

CA: wwho wwould a thought wwed become such wwonderful friends

TA: who the hell 2aiid you were my friiend?

CA: wwhoa wwhat really

TA: ehehehe ii'm kiiddiing, a22hole.

CA: im breathin a sigh a relief right now

CA: damn sol dont fuck wwith me like that

CA: in person i can usually tell wwhen youre bein sarcastic or wwhatevver but its a lot harder ovver text you knoww

TA: ii'm 2orry. well not really but anyway, ii'll be riight back.

CA: dont you dare ditch this convversation

TA: ii won't 2o ju2t hold on a 2ec.

I notice that Aradia has messaged me a few times since I switched conversations and I decide to take a look at what she has to say. Eridan can wait a little bit while I wrap things up with her.

AA: anyway s0llux i actually had a reas0n f0r messaging y0u

AA: are y0u g0ing t0 the festival next week

TA: yeah, ii liiterally ju2t made plans two go liike thiirty 2econd2 ago.

AA: im pr0bably g0ing t0 g0 t00 s0 if y0u w0uldnt mind seeing me i w0uld like t0 try and meet up with y0u at s0me p0int during the night

AA: d0 y0u kn0w what day y0ure g0ing yet

TA: 2aturday, ii gue22. ii 2uppo2e iit would be niice two 2ee you for a biit 2o ii'm down two meet up.

AA: awes0me

AA: :D

TA: diid ii 2eriiou2ly ju2t wiitne22 you 2miiliing?

AA: that y0u did

AA: ive been feeling lately that it is g00d t0 salvage 0ld friendships and create new 0nes instead 0f being al0ne all the time

TA: ii gue22 ii feel the 2ame way, two.

AA: s0 d0 y0u have any new pr0spects in y0ur l0ve life

TA: that que2tiion ii2 kiind of out of the left fiield, aa. ii2 there anythiing you want two 2ay two me?

AA: 0h im n0t asking t0 l00k f0r an 0pening if thats what y0u mean s0 please d0nt take it the wr0ng way 0r s0mething

AA: im just w0ndering if y0uve f0und l0ve yet

TA: well, ii thiink ii miight liike 2omeone but ii'm not two 2ure about iit yet. iit'2 kiind of a really fuckiing compliicated me22 that my braiin ii2 haviing a hard tiime proce22iing at the moment.

AA: 0h i w0nder what kind 0f pers0n c0uld p0ssibly make y0u 0f all pe0ple that c0nfused

TA: ii don't thiink you actually know thii2 per2on 2iince you went two a diifferent college than ii diid, but iin any ca2e, you can meet them on 2aturday iif we end up meetiing at the fe2tiival.

AA: im l00king f0rward t0 it

TA: me two, actually. anyway, ii have two go appea2e that per2on ii mentiioned above before they have a fuckiing hii22y fiit.

TA: ii'll 2ee you next 2aturday, aa.

AA: see y0u then s0llux

- apocalypseArisen [AA] ceased messaging twinArmageddons [TA] -

A giant yawn escapes me as I stretch out my limbs in an attempt to get comfortable after sitting in the same position for the past twenty minutes or so. Having been stationed at the computer for hours on end throughout the day, my eyes are finally having trouble staying open as I stare at the screen and attempt to continue the conversation with Eridan without falling asleep right here.

TA: back, but ii actually thiink ii'm goiing two go two bed now.

CA: thats fuckin lame

CA: its only like seven pm wwho the fuck goes to bed that early besides toddlers an old people

TA: 2orry, ii'm ju2t really tiired. goodniight though.

CA: night sol

CA: havve some swweet dreams about me

TA: ehehehe you wii2h.

I promptly turn the monitor off and slowly but surely make my way down the hallway and into my bedroom. It's a complete mess right now but I couldn't care less about any of that; the only thing that my attention hones in on is the welcoming arms of the queen-size mattress with the mounds of tangled blankets and sheets splayed across the surface. The second my body hits the bed, my eyes close and the sweet waves of sleep begin to wash over me—but not before thoughts of _him_ start circling in my head.


	9. Chapter 9

I open the door to my apartment as quickly as I possibly can with my hands full and let Eridan into the walkway. He'd whined about wanting the security code so he could enter the building itself without my help and I had hesitantly divulged that information despite the fact that it meant he could bother me pretty much whenever the hell he pleased. However, today he actually has a purpose for being here and his presence isn't necessarily unwanted. He pauses on the crimson and cobalt striped floor mat and flicks his lame 'fashionable' shoes—a horrid pair of black keds with little purple anchors plastered all over them—off next to a pair of my worn out sneakers.

"Eheheh, thothe are the _uglietht_ thoeth I've ever theen in my life. They look like thomething a thixth grader would wear."

Eridan gives me the dirtiest look I've seen him conjure up to date. "Oh, _fuck_ you, Sol. I happen to lov-ve those fuckin' shoes so you can just go fuck yourself if you don't like them. Anyw-way, are you almost ready or are w-we gonna be late meetin' up w-with ev-veryone?" he asks, ignoring my earlier insult and taking a good look around my apartment while looking none too impressed. I'm not at all surprised at his negative reaction to the bare surroundings—he obviously has money to burn and definitely does _not_ have issues spending it while I simply prefer to save mine.

I lower my gaze at him as I begin to put my shirt on. "Unlike you, _printheth_, it doethn't take me all fucking day to get ready for thome thtupid fethtival. I jutht need to put thith on, clean my pierthing and bruth my teeth. Then we can head out."

After I finish pulling my black sweater over my head, the loose fabric falls down the length of my thin torso and settles in bunches at my hips. The already wide collar of the sweater is stretched out for some reason I can't quite remember and the left side droops down and exposes one of my bony shoulders. Eridan smiles at this and I merely roll my eyes in response, knowing full well this isn't something I would ever ordinarily wear outside of my house—but it _does_ look kind of nice on me and it's the only decent shirt I own that's actually clean.

"W-Who knew-w you could look so trendy? I'm somew-what impressed." he laughs as he walks up to me so he can adjust the fabric a little bit and reveal a bit more of my shoulder. "You hav-ve a really defined collarbone. I'm honestly a little jealous."

My glare returns and shoots itself in his direction; I've never been comfortable with people fussing over the way that I look. "D-Don't thay thit like that!"

"Haha, w-whatev-ver you say, Sol."

Disregarding him completely, I make my way down the narrow carpeted hallway and enter my admittedly sorry excuse for a bathroom. First thing on my checklist is making sure my piercing is taken care of, so I swish around some of the cleaning solution in my mouth and spit it back into the sink once I'm done. I then pick up my toothbrush, apply some minty toothpaste to the bristles, and spend the next two minutes thoroughly brushing my teeth. My mouth feels wonderfully refreshed and I have to stifle a laugh when I realize it's only going to last as long as I can resist the temptation of deliciously greasy festival food.

As though he's some kind of stealthy assassin, Eridan is suddenly standing beside me and he checks himself out in the mirror like the narcissist he is. His gaze abruptly turns to me and he forcibly swivels my body around so that I'm facing him. I can only silently stand there as he pulls a tiny bottle of some kind of product out of seemingly nowhere and squeezes some onto the palm of his hand; he rubs his palms together a little bit and then skillfully runs his fingers through my hair. A few moments of this pass by before he steps back and looks all too satisfied with himself.

"W-Well, are you gonna check my w-work out in the mirror or are you just gonna trust that I'm amazin' at beautifyin' nerdy shut-ins w-who couldn't care less about personal appearance?" he asks with a smug smile and I reluctantly shift my line of vision sideways so I can see my reflection. An infuriated feeling makes its way through my very being as I realize that he's styled my dark hair so perfectly that I can't find a single bad thing to say about it. "You look nice, eh Sol?"

"Oh my god, it'th amathing! How did you ever get tho good at thith?"

"Oh, you know-w, I'm just incredibly ski—"

I laugh harder than I have in a very long time. "Ith that what you honethtly thought I would thay? You're thuch a dumbath!" His smile quickly turns to a frown at my rude interjection and I give him a friendly consolation pat on the shoulder. "It lookth fine; I never could have pulled thith off by mythelf. Thankth, maybe now I have a chanthe at picking up thome chickth at thith thing."

Eridan just rolls his eyes—clearly admitting defeat at the hands of the ultimate master of sarcasm that I happen to be—and disappears into the living room without another word. I grab everything I could possibly need for the night before following him out into the main hallway of the building and locking up my apartment. We're silent for most of the ride into the center city; he's concentrating on driving through the thick traffic and police detours while I'm fucking around with games on my cellphone. After being directed into an available parking lot by some guy wearing a bright orange reflective vest, he pulls the car into a tight parking spot and turns it off.

"Sucks that w-we hav-ve to w-walk like, _ten w-whole fuckin' blocks_ to get there. Maybe w-we should a' left earlier to beat traffic…" Eridan whines as he opens his car door, clearly worried that he might not look perfect by the time we reach the festivities. Although he never actually says this out loud, it is my absolute firm belief based on his past behavior that his aesthetics are his number one concern.

As I quickly slide out of the passenger seat and shove only the bare necessities into my pants pockets, I glance over at him from across the top of his car. "You're thuch a drama queen, you know that?"

Eridan ignores me and starts walking away; my legs quicken their pace in order to catch up with him. There are an incredible amount of tightly-packed crowds flooding the streets and sidewalks and making their way to the festival grounds. I suddenly feel an arm sliding through mine and it pulls me close once it locks around my elbow. For some strange reason, the heat rises to my face even though walking like this with him feels somewhat natural to me. However, the fact that I'm blushing over something as ridiculous as being clung to for a mundane reason like not losing each other in a crowd makes me feel uncomfortable. As a person who loves all things logical, the mixed emotions swirling around inside of me are nonsensical and I hate it.

The longer we stay stuck together like this, pushing our way through the hordes of people surrounding us, the harder my heart begins to pound against my chest. It isn't until we pass under the giant sign marking the entrance to the festival that we finally part and I'm allowed a chance to collect myself. Luck must be on my side tonight because the first person that I recognize standing off in the distance is Strider; he's easily identifiable because he's the only person who would wear sunglasses at eight in the evening when the sun has already begun to set. Knowing that Karkat can't be too far off from where he is, I make a quick beeline in his general direction while just barely dragging my date along with me.

He notices me first and offers the faintest hint of a smile. "Oh, hey Sollux. Karkat was just complaining about you not being here yet. 'Sup?"

"Well, we jutht got here and I haven't even had a chanthe to textht him. Where ith he, anyway? I thought he would have been with you."

The blonde just shrugs and reaches into the messenger bag that crosses over his slim torso, pulling out a pack of cigarettes after a few seconds of blindly searching. "He was, and I quote, 'fucking starving' and decided to go grab us something to eat. I think the food vendors are over that way," he motions over towards the left of him and then continues on, "so if you want to go catch up with him, I'll just wait here and continue to people watch behind my shades."

I go to say something but Eridan places his hand on my shoulder interrupts me before I can respond. "You really hav-ven't had anythin' substantial to eat in the past tw-wo w-weeks so go on ahead. Grab me a drink w-while you're there. W-Water, please."

"Oh shit, I totally forgot to ask him to get me a drink. Here, take this and grab me like, two beers or something. I'm gonna double fist it tonight. Vantas reluctantly agreed to be DD so I don't have to worry about driving home drunk."

Both of them hand me some money to take with me on my journey to find my best friend within the hundreds of people swarming around; Eridan's bills are crisp and flawless while Dave shoves a crumpled wad of cash into the palm of my hand. After I put the money safely into my pocket, my legs begin carrying me towards my intended destination. Surprisingly quickly, I'm able to find my midget-like friend waiting in line at a general food booth. I'm sure that I piss off several people when I cut in line to stand next to him but I ignore their grumblings in favor of greeting Karkat.

"Hey thexthy. You come here often?"

He must have been deep in thought because my voice startles him. "Jesus fucking Christ, Sollux. You scared the shit out of me."

"Ehehehe, thorry KK. I jutht couldn't rethitht thneaking up on you."

"It's fine; I was just trying to read the menu from here but everyone is so goddamn tall and it's difficult to see over them and so I was concentrating so hard that I didn't notice you standing next to me." he demonstrates this by standing on his tippy toes and failing to be able to read anything. "Could you tell me how much a hot dog and a hamburger are altogether? Oh, and a soda too."

Being nearly a foot taller than him—not to mention having height over most of the people in front of us—it's easy enough for me to see the menu in its entirety even though we're towards the end of the line. However, my eyesight isn't all that great and I have to really peer through my glasses to make out the tiny font. "Uh, let'th thee. It would be about ten dollarth for your food and a thoda, and then another thixth for Thrtider'th beerth. He gave me like ten in oneth tho he hath that covered."

"Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot. Open your mouth; I want to see the piercing." I stick my tongue out and show him the gleaming silver barbell that has finally settled comfortably in my mouth. He looks fairly impressed and I close my mouth once I can tell he's satisfied with having seen it. "That's actually pretty fucking cool. I wish I wasn't such a pussy otherwise I'd consider body modification."

I laugh. "You know, I went with Eridan when I got thith done and even _he_ got a pierthing without much trouble. You're thuch a little baby."

"Fuck you, Sollux. It's really not my fault that I developed a phobia of needles ever since that student nurse fucked up while drawing my blood by missing the vein six times in a goddamn row. I wouldn't be able to go through with it even if it meant showing that stupid hipster bastard up."

We continue our mindless conversation until it's finally our turn to walk up to the counter. I let Karkat go first for three reasons: he had been standing in line before I even showed up, he has the most to order, and I still haven't decided exactly what I want to eat. Once he's finished arranging everything in his arms, he stands off to the side and waits for me to place my order. Eventually deciding on a hot dog and a beer, I ask for that along with another two for Strider and I just narrowly remember to grab Eridan a bottle of water. The sweaty and clearly overworked employee and I exchange money for food and I walk over to where Karkat is stationed so we can head back together. We meander around for a while until we spot a tuft of purple hair sticking out amongst the crowd, the two-toned hairstyle belonging to Eridan.

"Fuck dude, took you long enough. Did you have to perform some kind of sacred ritual in order to gain allowance for greasy sustenance?" the sunglasses clad blonde quips as we begin looking for a picnic table to settle down and eat at.

Karkat glares at him and opens his mouth to speak. "Oh, I'm sorry! Are you not pleased enough at the fact that you have me so whipped that I'm willing to stand in a long ass line of people for an extended period of time? You know what? I hope the next time you walk into a bank with your stupid fucking sunglasses on you get tackled down and tazered by a fat security guard."

"That's harsh, baby. If that happens, who is going to reciprocate that blowjo—"

Karkat balances everything that he's carrying and lifts one of his short legs in order to kick his boyfriend; however, he misses Strider completely and ends up nearly knocking me over instead. "Calm down, girlth. You're both pretty."

Successfully subduing both of them, we finally come across an empty table and take action before someone else snatches it up. Since Karkat is still seemingly pissed off at his blonde counterpart, he sits next to me and forces Eridan to sit with Dave. I don't mind much but I can tell that Eridan is a little uncomfortable with this seating arrangement and in all honesty, disappointment in the fact that I can't sit next to him swiftly creeps up on me. _What the hell is with me tonight,_ I wonder briefly before digging into real food for the first time in weeks. It's both disgusting and delicious at the same time—exactly what I expect from infamous festival food. About half an hour passes before we're all finished consuming our various food and drink; my cell phone begins vibrating in my pocket and I take a moment to see who is trying to get ahold me. It's not a text but an instant message and I smile a bit to myself when I see who the sender is.

- apocalypseArisen [AA] began messaging twinArmageddons [TA] -

AA: i see y0u

AA: 0_0

AA: i just realized h0w creepy that actually s0unds

TA: iit'2 okay, you've alway2 been kiind of creepy.

AA: that much is definitely true

AA: can i walk 0ver t0 y0u 0r are y0u busy

AA: y0ur table is full and i d0nt want t0 interrupt y0u guys

TA: beliieve me, you wouldn't be iinterruptiing anythiing.

TA: they're haviing 2ome lame conver2atiion about 2omethiing, ii don't even know. ii haven't been payiing much attentiion two be hone2t.

AA: 0kay

AA: see y0u s00n

AA: :D

- apocalypseArisen [AA] ceased messaging twinArmageddons [TA] –

It seems as though not even a second has passed before I feel a light tap on my shoulder; it makes me wonder exactly where the hell her vantage point was if she was close enough to arrive this soon and I didn't notice her anywhere. "Damn, that wath fatht—" I turn around and I'm suddenly at a loss for words. It's not Aradia who is trying to get my attention.

It's Feferi.


	10. Chapter 10

My heartbeat starts to accelerate erratically at the sight of her; this strange arrhythmia leaves me completely short of breath. The actual words I want to verbalize stay stuck to my tongue like glue and all I can manage to choke out is, "What the hell are you doing here, Feferi?"

She's standing there with a cheerful grin on her face as though this was nothing but a normal meeting between the two of us. Everyone with me is clearly uncomfortable with this whole situation and I find myself desperately wishing that she would just disappear. As her line of vision drifts across the picnic table towards Eridan, that bright smile of hers quickly fades into a flat line. "Um, do you think we could possibly talk in private for a few minutes? I promise I won't keep you long."

"I gueth we could do that." I halfheartedly mumble under my breath. I _sincerely_ want absolutely nothing to do with her but I know for a fact that if I just go along with her little charade, it will be over with soon enough. "I'll be right back, guyth."

Karkat shoots me a concerned glance as if to make sure that I'm okay—the kind of unspoken support shared between best friends—before opening his mouth to speak in a completely different manner. "God forbid the rest of us want to have some actual fun tonight. Now we all wait have to wait here for you so hurry the _fuck_ up."

Before I can say anything to redeem myself even the tiniest bit, the unwanted guest among us pipes up instead. "I really won't keep him for too long! Um… it was nice seeing you again, Karkat. You… you too, Eridan! Hehe…"

She suddenly grabs me by the loose black fabric of my right sleeve and pulls me off of the bench seat with unexpected strength. I'm forced to kind of hobble behind her because she's determinedly pulling me away from everyone; however, she's much shorter than me and my added height makes my movements that much more awkward. People are undoubtedly staring at us but I pay them no mind because I'm focusing all of my concern on getting this whole ordeal over with as soon as possible. When Feferi is finally satisfied that we have enough privacy—she's dragged me to the outskirts of the fairgrounds where only a few stragglers are loitering about smoking cigarettes or passing around a pipe—she stops dead in her tracks and turns around so that we're standing face to face.

"Theriouthly, Fef… what the _hell_ pothethed you to think that thtealing me away from my friendth wath in any way appropriate?" I ask with an exasperated tone of voice, looking her in the eye and trying to gauge her intentions.

Another contented smile creeps up on her plump lips and although there was a period of time where I would have found it beautiful, the seemingly harmless gesture only leaves me feeling disgusted now. "I know it wasn't the best thing to do but I really wanted to talk to you! You blocked me on all of the websites that I could have possibly reached out to you on and you even changed your phone number so I couldn't contact you that way, either!"

A crude laugh escapes my lungs. "Oh my god, how could I do thuch a terrible thing to you? I mean,_ obviouthly _I had abtholutely no reathon at all to jutht thut you out of my life like that! Can you ever forgive me for being thuch a dumbath?"

"This isn't the time for sarcasm, Sollux. I mean, don't you ever think back on how our relationship ended and wonder how things would have been if we had just worked everything out instead of breaking it off? When Meenah told me about how she saw you at work the other day, it got me thinking about everything and when I spotted you at that picnic table... well, _I_ think it's fate that we should meet here!"

For a few awkwardly silent seconds, I just stand there and stare at her with the most dumbfounded expression that my facial muscles can possibly manage to contort themselves into. Thousands of thoughts begin circling around my mind in an intermittent fashion until everything is just one colossal jumbled mess. This situation did not hold the same innocence as Aradia wanting to rekindle a friendship that dates back nearly ten years; no, this right here was something else entirely. I'm wracking my brain and frantically trying to find the exact combination of words that can properly convey just how repulsed I am at all of this. Eventually, a string of letters begin forming raw words that tumble out of my mouth one after another.

"You know what? In all of my nearly twenty-two yearth alive on thith planet, I have never _onthe_ met a bigger bitch than you. You talk about our break up like it wath thomething mutual and exthpected—ath tho _you_ weren't the one to end thingth with me becauthe I couldn't conthtantly wait on you hand and foot. I already have one printheth in my life right now, I have exthactly _thero_ need for another." When I finish saying what needs to be said, I turn around and begin to head back over towards where my friends are still waiting for me.

"That's not fair, Sollux…"

Feferi abruptly grabs onto my sleeve one last time in order to get my attention focused back onto her and I immediately flick her hand away. "We've already been over for almotht half a year and I have abtholutely no intentionth of changing that now. I meant every thingle fucking word I jutht thaid on the matter, tho kindly fuck off and never thpeak to me again."

Leaving her behind without another word, my walking turns into a dead sprint back towards the festivities. Since I'm rudely pushing past anyone who stands in my way, it doesn't take very long at all before I spot the sanctity of the picnic table where everyone is engaging in conversation and awaiting my return. When I'm finally within a few feet of them, I notice a new addition to our group sitting where I had been just a few minutes beforehand. Just by the long black curls and dark outfit to match, I can instantly tell that it's Aradia who has stolen my seat.

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thorry about that, everyone. I promithe that I'm yourth to do with what you pleathe for the retht of the night."

The only light-haired one among us twists his expression into a disgustingly lecherous smile as he says, "In that case, I say we all have a giant org—"

Karkat quickly prevents him from finishing his sentence by jabbing his elbow into the blonde's ribcage and interrupting him. "Instead of something as revolting as that, let's actually partake in the fucking festival now that we've put together this fucked up little motley crew."

Aradia smiles and it's rather infectious, causing me to smile too. "Well, if I'm not imposing on you guys by being here, having some fun sounds like the best course of action right about now."

I nod as if to say that I agree and it seems as though everyone else is willing to pretend like the conversation with Feferi never even happened. I'm more than thankful for that—I myself would like to pretend that the last several minutes of my life were nothing but a fucked up daydream. We all decide to simply enjoy ourselves as we hit up each booth one by one; time just flies by between playing silly carnival games and losing miserably and taking our chances on each of the old rickety rides set up throughout the festival. I'm having so much fun that I hardly notice the fact that Eridan has been rather reserved the whole time. However, before I can approach him and ask if something is wrong, Aradia falls back to meet my pace and strikes up a conversation with me instead.

"So... the person you like is among this group?" she quietly asks in a genuine tone of voice; it makes her question seem like an innocent inquiry rather than prying for information. "It must be the tall one with the black and purple hair."

Hearing someone else put together the puzzle that I've been struggling to process myself hits me like a wayward train. She's absolutely right but for some reason I still can't believe that I've found myself attracted to another male, let alone that male being someone I strongly disliked for so long. Nonetheless, I hear myself answering her question without much hesitation. "Yeah it'th him… I mean, I _think_ I like him like that, at leatht. It'th jutht… it'th all tho new to me and we've only been hanging out for a few weekth but thomething about him kind of maketh my heart flutter."

"Don't worry yourself too much over it and just accept it for what it is. You can't really help who you become attracted to no matter how much you try. In any case, I kind of ditched Damara to hang out with you guys so I should probably go and find her now. I've been checking my texts periodically throughout the night and she keeps spouting what looks like angry Japanese at me…"

I find myself laughing ridiculously hard at that statement. "You know, your whole entire family ith pretty fucking weird, AA. It really wath nithe to thee you though and I hope we can hang out again thometime in the near future."

"I hope so too; I'm actually really glad I finally gathered up the courage to message you the other night." she says with a slight smile, her white teeth shining brightly against the dark red shade of her lipstick. "Oh, and before I forget, I think you should pull him aside and talk to him. He's been acting kind of withdrawn since you left with Feferi and he could probably use some consolation."

"I notithed that too but I haven't really had the chanthe to thay anything to him thinthe we've been hitting up one attraction after another. Good luck with your thithter and I'll definitely methage you thometime thoon."

Aradia nods and waves goodbye, her raven curls bouncing along with the movement. It doesn't take long before she completely disappears within the sea of people surrounding us and I'm left alone. Taking her rather sound advice to heart, I catch up with Eridan and tap him on the shoulder in order to get his attention. The downtrodden expression he initially shows me when he turns around makes the notion that he's upset about something all too clear. "Oh, hey Sol. I didn't ev-ven notice you w-were standin' behind me."

"Do you maybe want to head back to the car now?" I inquire, cutting right to the chase. Even if I wanted to talk about whatever was bothering him right this instant, this wasn't the place for such a conversation.

A faint smile forms with his lips. "You read my mind. I w-was kind a' spacin' out this w-whole time though, so I lost track of Karkat and Strider…" He looks so melancholy and I simply cannot stand seeing him wear that sort of expression on his face.

"We'll worry about them later." Suddenly I find myself grabbing him by the arm and blindly searching for the entrance we walked through to get here. After walking around for a while with his delicate wrist gently clasped in my palm, I finally spot the police officers in their garish orange vests directing pedestrians and traffic to and from the assigned parking lots. We hurriedly make our way back to his car and as soon as we're both comfortably seated, he turns to look at me as though he's waiting for me to say something important. Knowing exactly what he's anticipating, my mouth wastes no time forming the words I want to relay to him. "Um, ith there like, a reathon why you theem… I don't know, uncomfortable maybe?"

Eridan lowers his gaze and stares at the dashboard stationed in front of us. He seems to be contemplating his answer; the silence that falls between us is neither awkward nor pleasant. An eternity seems to pass before he looks back up at me and beneath the flickering glow of a streetlamp standing a few feet away from the car, it almost looks as though he's about to cry. However, instead of breaking down into tears, he smiles the most painfully sad smile I've ever seen before opening his mouth to speak. "Do you remember w-when w-we w-were chattin' at that party and I made it seem like I didn't realize I had been rude to you w-when w-we had that class together?"

"Yeah… why?"

"I w-was lyin' through my teeth w-when you brought that up. Lookin' back on it now-w, I should a' just been straightforw-ward w-with you about it because I really did w-want to start ov-ver an' become friends."

I'm not really all that surprised considering I can _clearly_ remember his rather fucked up attitude towards me when we first met. In fact, I don't even hold it against him but now he's piqued my curiosity as to why he acted like that in the first place. "Well, firtht let me thtart off by thaying that I'm not mad at you for lying to me but can you at leatht exthplain what that wath all about?"

"I don't ev-ven know-w w-where to start w-with this one but I'll try to make it as short an' concise as I possibly can. In my second semester a' college, I had an art class w-with Feferi and I really began to like her as the days passed. So naturally I decided to ask her out w-when I felt like she maybe felt the same w-way about me—only to find out she w-was goin' out w-with you. At that time, I still had absolutely no idea w-who you w-were but in my mind you w-were already my competition and ev-ven w-without know-win' you, I started to hate you."

_Oh, it's all starting to make sense now._ "…tho when you found out who I wath when we had that clath together, you probably thought thomething along the lineth of 'why ith thith beautiful girl going out with thuch a nerd?' right? I hit the nail right on the fucking head. I can thee it in your exthprethion."

He laughs a little. "That's pretty much how-w it played out in my mind, but by that time I also knew-w you two had recently broken up and I tried to make a mov-ve again. She _still_ didn't w-want me an' I took my frustration out on you. It really somehow-w felt like it w-was all your fault ev-ven though now I know-w it w-wasn't."

Despite it being the summer season, it's getting a little cold in the car so before responding to him, I reach over and turn the keys in the ignition back until the car starts up. Once the temperature gauge—nearly hidden behind the steering wheel at this angle—shows signs of warming up, I flick the heat on all the way to the highest setting and let it blast through the air vents. I rub my hands together to warm up my fingers and then lean back in the car seat. "It'th all good now, tho don't worry about me being upthet over thith. I'm going to take a wild gueth and thay that theeing her pull me away today brought back thome of the bitter memorieth?"

"Yeah..."

An unpleasant aftertaste stings my tongue as I think about my next words. "Let me be totally honetht with you. You_ theriouthly_ dodged a bullet by Feferi rejecting your advantheth. We had been dating from our thenior year in high thchool all the way up to the beginning of latht themethter and in thothe nearly four yearth, thhe did almotht nothing but tell me that I wath a terrible boyfriend. There wath literally nothing I could do to thatithfy her and when I thought that maybe I had done a good thing, it wathn't enough. Even when I couldn't take it anymore, I thtill loved her and tho I tried to keep going only to have her fuck me over in the end by breaking up with me. When thhe pulled me athide earlier thhe kind of tried to athk me out again but I told her thtraight up that I wath no longer interethted in her."

I watch him closely through my peripheral vision, gauging his reaction to what I just told him. He was the only person besides Karkat that I had ever admitted all of that to and I can't quite predict what his response will be. He seems to mull over each word that I had uttered only seconds beforehand and nervous butterflies start circling around in my stomach. Finally he looks me straight in the eye and says, "You know-w… I find that all so hard to believ-ve."

"Damn… I mean, I know you uthed to carry a torch for her and maybe you thtill do but I thought you would at leatht conthider my thide of the thtor—"

He suddenly looks alarmed and shakes his head fervently. "Sorry, my w-wordin' right there w-was cod aw-wful, w-wasn't it? I didn't mean that I don't believ-ve w-what you said, w-what I meant w-was that I just can't believ-ve that there's actually a person out there w-who isn't fuckin' _elated_ w-when they're around you."

"Wha... what do you mean?" I ask with genuine surprise, not expecting a compliment like that at all.

"W-Well, this might seem kind a' dumb to you but… in hopin' that this doesn't come off soundin' too w-weird or somethin' w-when I say this… you'v-ve made me happier in these past few-w w-weeks than I hav-ve been in a really long time. I realize that the summer has only just started but I really hope that you'll stick it out w-with me a w-while longer because I just… w-well, to be perfectly honest, I can't get enough of bein' w-with you."

There goes that flutter in my heart again. Its erratic beating is different than the one I felt with Feferi in that it somehow makes me feel like I'm high on the most beautiful drug that this universe can summon up; the happiness that creeps up on me is almost too much to bear. Without my expressed consent, the words I've been holding onto roll down my tongue and come falling out of my mouth. "I… I-I think I like you."

Eridan leans over the center console and brings his lips so close to my face that I can feel his heated breath on my skin. He leaves the slightest kiss on my cheek before whispering, "Thank_ cod_ you said just that. For aw-while there, I thought _I_ w-was the only one w-who w-was losin' my fuckin' mind over you."


End file.
